Light pipes for LED array luminaire

ABSTRACT

An optical system and luminaire are provided. The luminaire includes a plurality of LED die sets, a plurality of light pipes corresponding to the LED die sets, and a plurality of light pipe holders corresponding to the light pipes. Each of the LED die sets includes a plurality of LED dies. The LED dies of at least one LED die set emit light beams of a plurality of colors that corresponds to the plurality of LED dies. The light pipe holders are configured to hold their light pipes in positions optically coupled to corresponding LED die sets. The light pipe corresponding to the at least one LED die set has an output face, an input face to receive a light beam, and a body extending from the input face to the output face. A cross-section of the body rotates along a central axis extending between the input face and the output face.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/425,554 filed May 29, 2019 by Pavel Jurik, et al. entitled, “LightPipes for LED Array Luminaire”, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/678,122 filed May 30, 2018 by PavelJurik, et al. entitled, “Light Pipes for LED Array Luminaire”, both ofwhich are incorporated by reference herein as if reproduced in theirentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure generally relates to a light-emitting diode (LED)luminaires, specifically to light pipes for an LED luminaire.

BACKGROUND

Many entertainment lighting fixtures use LED light sources to reducepower requirements and generated heat. The LED source often includesLEDs of differing colors, e.g., red, blue, green, and white. An operatorcan adjust the beam to a desired color by remotely adjusting therelative brightness of the colors.

SUMMARY

In a first embodiment, an optical system includes first and second LEDdie sets, first and second light pipes, and first and second light pipeholders. Each of the first and second LED die sets includes a pluralityof LED dies. The LED dies of each of the first and second LED die setsemit light beams of a plurality of colors that corresponds to theplurality of LED dies. Each of the first and second light pipes has anoutput face, an input face configured to receive a light beam, and abody extending from the input face to the output face, a cross-sectionof the body of the first light pipe rotating along a central axisextending between the input face and the output face. The first andsecond light pipe holders are configured to hold the first and secondlight pipes in positions optically coupled to the first and second LEDdie sets.

In a second embodiment, a luminaire includes a plurality of LED diesets, a plurality of light pipes corresponding to the LED die sets, anda plurality of light pipe holders corresponding to the light pipes. Eachof the LED die sets includes a plurality of LED dies. The LED dies of atleast one LED die set emit light beams of a plurality of colors thatcorresponds to the plurality of LED dies. The light pipe holders areconfigured to hold their corresponding light pipes in positionsoptically coupled to corresponding LED die sets. The light pipecorresponding to the at least one LED die set has an output face, aninput face configured to receive a light beam, and a body extending fromthe input face to the output face. A cross-section of the body rotatesalong a central axis extending between the input face and the outputface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of this disclosure, reference is nowmade to the following brief description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which like reference numerals indicate likefeatures.

FIG. 1 shows an automated luminaire according to the disclosure;

FIG. 2 presents a partial side view of the optical system of FIG. 1 in afirst configuration;

FIG. 3 presents a partial side view of the optical system of FIG. 1 in asecond configuration;

FIG. 4 shows an exploded isometric view of the optical system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows an isometric detail view of elements of the LED modules ofthe optical system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 shows a top detail view of LED die sets of the optical system ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 7 shows a cross-section view of an input face of a light pipeaccording to the disclosure;

FIG. 8 shows a top detail view of a second optical system according tothe disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows a second light pipe according to the disclosure; and

FIG. 10 shows a second array of lenses according to the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Preferred embodiments are illustrated in the figures, like numeralsbeing used to refer to like and corresponding parts of the variousdrawings.

Disclosed herein is an LED optical system including a plurality of lightpipes having asymmetric cross-sections mounted in a common rotationalorientation and having polygonal output faces.

FIG. 1 shows an automated luminaire 100 according to the disclosure. Theluminaire 100 includes a plurality of LED modules 2. Each LED module 2includes a multi-chip LED (not shown in FIG. 1) with a plurality of LEDdies. Each LED die may be a different color. Each LED module 2 furtherincludes a light pipe or integrating rod (not shown in FIG. 1)configured to homogenize the brightness and/or color of the light beamsfrom the LED dies, and may also include a diffusion optical element 6,on an exit end of a light pipe of the LED module 2.

FIG. 2 presents a partial side view of an optical system 200 in a firstconfiguration. The optical system 200 is shown installed in theautomated luminaire 100, but may be installed in other types ofluminaires in other embodiments. The LED modules 2 emit light towardsand through a lens array 4. The lens array 4 may contain a plurality ofindividual lens sections, one for each LED module 2. The lens array 4 isconfigured to move towards and away from the LED modules 2 along anoptical axis 8 of the automated luminaire 100. In some embodiments,mechanical actuators that are controlled remotely are configured to movethe lens array 4. In a first configuration of the optical system 200shown in FIG. 2, the lens array 4 has been moved away from the LEDmodules 2 and the optical system 200 emits a narrow light beam.

FIG. 3 presents a partial side view of the optical system 200 in asecond configuration. In the second configuration shown in FIG. 3, thelens array 4 has been moved close to the LED modules 2 and the opticalsystem 200 emits a wide light beam. Thus, the lens array 4 is configuredto control a beam angle of the optical system 200 by moving along theoptical axis 8 toward and away from the LED modules 2.

FIG. 4 shows an exploded isometric view of the optical system 200. TheLED module 2 includes an LED die set 41 that emits light into a lightpipe 44 that is mounted in a light pipe holder 42. An output face 46 ofthe light pipe 44 is capped with a diffusing foil 48 that is configuredto further homogenize a light beam emitted from the light pipe 44. Whilea diffusing foil is shown in FIG. 4, in other embodiments otherdiffusing optical elements may be used. In one embodiment, the diffusingfoil 48 may be secured within light pipe holder 42 via teeth on theinside rim inside of the light pipe holder 42, just below its edge. Inanother embodiment, the diffusing foil 48 may be secured within lightpipe holder 42 via ultrasonic welding techniques that mechanicallycouple the diffusing foil 48 to the light pipe holder 42 or createprotrusions from the inside surface of the light pipe holder 42 to holdthe diffusion foil 48 in place. In yet other embodiments, adhesives,tape, or other mechanical fixing materials may be used to attach thediffusing foil 48 to the light pipe 44 and/or the light pipe holder 42.

The lens array 4 of the optical system 200 includes a center lens 43,which is hexagonal in shape, surrounded by a first ring of lenses 45,each of which has a first trapezoidal shape.

FIG. 5 shows an isometric detail view of elements of the LED modules ofthe optical system 200. The optical system 200 includes seven lightpipes 44. Each light pipe 44 comprises an asymmetrical input face 55 (asdescribed in more detail with reference to FIG. 7) and is orientedwithin its holder (not shown in FIG. 5) with its asymmetry pointed inthe same direction as all other light pipes 44. While the light pipeholders 42 are mounted in differing orientations, each light pipe 44 ismounted within its holder with the same rotational orientation along itsoptical axis relative to the optical system 200. The input face 55 ofeach light pipe 44 is positioned close to its associated LED die set 41a-g and is configured to capture the light from its associated LED dieset. The output face 46 of each light pipe 44 is a rounded rectangle. Inother embodiments, an output face of a light pipe according to thedisclosure may be a regular polygon having five or more sides with sharpor rounded vertices between some or all faces. In all embodiments, theshape of the output is configured to produce a light beam that is closerto a circular beam than to the square beam produced by an output facehaving a square cross-section.

As discussed in more detail with reference to FIG. 9, in someembodiments light pipes according to the disclosure include a body thattwists along its central axis. Where some light pipes twist by differentamounts than other light pipes, the resulting apparent rotation of thesquare LED die sets will also contribute to produce a more circularlight beam.

FIG. 6 shows a top detail view of LED die sets 41 a-g of the opticalsystem 200. The LED die sets 41 a-g are mounted on a substrate 63. EachLED die set includes a plurality of LEDs, each of which emits a lightbeam of a different color. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, each LEDdie set includes four LEDs, one each of a red, green, blue, and whiteLED die, indicated by the letters R, G, B, and W respectively in FIG. 6.The LED die sets 41 a-g are configured with their colored LED dies indifferent positions relative to each other to improve an even coloringof the combined light beam emitted by the LED die sets and theirassociated lenses and to reduce color fringes or casts in the combinedlight beam.

While the different colors disclosed in FIG. 6 are the primary colorsred, green, blue, and white, it will be understood that in otherembodiments LEDs of different colors may emit light in different shadesof white, light of different color temperatures, or light havingdifferent color spectra.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-section view of an input face 72 of a light pipe 70according to the disclosure. The input face 72 has a polygonal shape andincludes an asymmetrical feature 74. A polygonal face of a light pipeaccording to the disclosure includes more than two sides, as well asvertices or corners between faces that may be sharp or rounded. Theasymmetrical feature 74 ensures that all light pipes 70 in a luminairemay be positioned with the same rotational orientation along an axisthat extends from the light pipe's input face to its output face. Thatis, all light pipes 70 may be positioned with their asymmetricalfeatures 74 rotated in the same direction.

Light pipes may be manufactured by molding a suitable optical material.Molds typically introduce manufacturing artifacts, such as partinglines, into products produced from the mold. By including anasymmetrical feature in a light pipe according to the disclosure, alllight pipes in a luminaire may be mounted in a common rotationalorientation thereby reducing variation in a beam emitted by theluminaire where the variation results from manufacturing artifacts inthe light pipes.

FIG. 8 shows a top detail view of a second optical system 800 accordingto the disclosure. LED die sets of the optical system 800 are arrangedon a substrate 83 with a central LED die set 81 g, a first ring of LEDdie sets 81 a-f surrounding the central LED die set 81 g, and a secondring of LED die sets 81 h-s surrounding the first ring of LED die sets81 a-f.

FIG. 9 shows a second light pipe 94 according to the disclosure. Thelight pipe 94 is mounted with its input face 95 optically coupled to anLED die set 91. A cross-section of a body of the light pipe 94 rotates(or twists) along a central axis of the light pipe 94, the central axisextending between the square input face 95 and a polygonal output face96. The light pipe 94 twists through a turn of 90°. In otherembodiments, light pipes according to the disclosure may rotate alongtheir lengths by amounts of more than or less than 90°. The light pipes44 and 94 may be used in any optical system according to the disclosure.In some embodiments, different light pipes in an optical systemaccording to the disclosure may rotate along their length by differentamounts or in different directions.

Light pipes may be twisted so as to optically rotate the orientation oftheir associated LED die set. As described with reference to FIG. 6,rotating LED die sets reduces or eliminates a color cast to one side ofa combined beam produced from the LED die sets, instead distributing thecolors more evenly distributed in every direction. Twisting differentlight pipe by different amounts further aids this even distribution ofLED colors. Additionally light pipes may be twisted by angles other thanthe increments of 90° that conventional circuit board design imposes onLED die set mounting. By combining LED die set rotation with light pipeshaving differing amounts of twist, a wider range of apparentorientations of the LED die sets can be obtained.

For shorter twisted light pipes, a twist of greater than 180° couldresult in light loss from the light pipe due to sharp internal angles.However, by intermixing light pipes that rotate in both directions,clockwise and counter-clockwise, an optical system according to thedisclosure may obtain an effective twist range of −180° to +180°,thereby further increasing the range of possible angles of apparentorientations of the LED die sets. In some such embodiments, thisexpanded effective twist range allows all LED die sets to be mounted inthe same orientation while still obtaining well distributed colors overthe combined beam, allowing all LED die sets to be mounted on thecircuit board in the same orientation.

FIG. 10 shows a second array of lenses 109 according to the disclosure.The lens array 109 is suitable for use with the optical system 800,described with reference to FIG. 8. Lens array 109 includes a centerlens 102, which is hexagonal in shape, surrounded by a first ring oflenses 104, each of which has a first trapezoidal shape. The first ringof lenses 104 is surrounded by a second ring of lenses 106, each ofwhich has a second trapezoidal shape.

While the disclosure has been described with respect to a limited numberof embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of thisdisclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments may be devised whichdo not depart from the scope of the disclosure herein. While thedisclosure has been described in detail, it should be understood thatvarious changes, substitutions and alterations can be made heretowithout departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An optical system comprising: first and secondlight-emitting diode (LED) die sets, each LED die set comprising aplurality of LED dies; first and second light pipes, each comprising aninput face configured to receive a light beam, the input face comprisingan asymmetrical feature; and first and second light pipe holdersconfigured to hold the first and second light pipes, respectively, inpositions optically coupled to the first and second LED die sets,respectively, the second light pipe holder configured to hold the secondlight pipe with its asymmetrical feature oriented in the same directionas the asymmetrical feature of the first light pipe.
 2. The opticalsystem of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second lightpipes comprises an output face, and a cross-section of a body of the atleast one light pipe rotates along a central axis between the input faceand the output face of the at least one light pipe.
 3. The opticalsystem of claim 2, wherein the cross-section of the body of the at leastone light pipe rotates by a first amount along the central axis betweenthe input face and the output face of the at least one light pipe, and across-section of a body of the other one of the first and second lightpipes rotates by a second amount along a central axis between the inputface and the output face of the second light pipe.
 4. The optical systemof claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second light pipescomprises an output face having a polygonal cross-section with five ormore sides.
 5. The optical system of claim 1, further comprising adiffusing optical element configured to homogenize a light beam emittedfrom at least one of the first and second light pipes.
 6. The opticalsystem of claim 1, wherein the plurality of LED dies of at least one ofthe first and second LED die sets emits light beams of a plurality ofcolors corresponding to the plurality of LED dies.
 7. The optical systemof claim 1, wherein the plurality of LED dies of each of the first andsecond LED die sets emits light beams of a plurality of colorscorresponding to the plurality of LED dies, each plurality of diesemitting the same plurality of colors, and the colored LED dies of thefirst and second LED die sets are configured respectively in first andsecond positions relative to each other, the first configuration ofpositions different from the second configuration of positions.
 8. Theoptical system of claim 1, further comprising first and second lensesoptically coupled to the first and second light pipes, respectively, thefirst and second lenses configured to move toward and away from thefirst and second light pipes along an optical axis of the optical systemto control a beam angle of the optical system.
 9. A luminairecomprising: a plurality of light-emitting diode (LED) die sets, each LEDdie set comprising a plurality of LED dies; a plurality of light pipescorresponding to the plurality of LED die sets, each light pipecomprising an input face, the input face comprising an asymmetricalfeature; and a plurality of light pipe holders corresponding to theplurality of light pipes, each light pipe holder configured to hold acorresponding one of the plurality of light pipes in a positionoptically coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of LED diesets, each of the plurality of light pipe holders configured to hold thecorresponding light pipe with its asymmetrical feature oriented in thesame direction as the asymmetrical features of other light pipes of theplurality of light pipes.
 10. The luminaire of claim 9, wherein theplurality of LED die sets and the corresponding plurality of light pipesare arranged in an array.
 11. The luminaire of claim 10, wherein a firstone of the plurality of LED die sets is positioned in a center of thearray, a first subset of the remaining ones of the plurality of LED diesets are arranged in a ring around the first LED die set, and a secondsubset of the remaining ones of the plurality of LED die sets arearranged in a ring around the first subset of LED die sets.
 12. Theluminaire of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of lensescorresponding to the plurality of light pipes, each lens opticallycoupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of light pipes, theplurality of lenses arranged in an array corresponding to the array oflight pipes.
 13. The luminaire of claim 12, wherein the array of lensesis configured to move toward and away from the plurality of light pipesalong an optical axis of the luminaire to control a beam angle of alight beam emitted by the luminaire, the luminaire further comprising amechanical actuator configured to be controlled remotely and to move thearray of lenses toward and away from the plurality of light pipes. 14.The luminaire of claim 9, wherein a first light pipe of the plurality oflight pipes comprises an output face, and a cross-section of a body ofthe first light pipe rotates by a first amount along a central axisbetween the input face and the output face of the first light pipe. 15.The luminaire of claim 14, wherein a second light pipe of the pluralityof light pipes comprises an output face, and a cross-section of a bodyof the second light pipe rotates by a second amount along a central axisbetween the input face and the output face of the first light pipe. 16.The luminaire of claim 9, wherein at least one of the plurality of lightpipes comprises an output face having a polygonal cross-section withfive or more sides.
 17. The luminaire of claim 9, further comprising adiffusing optical element configured to homogenize a light beam emittedfrom at least one of the plurality of light pipes.
 18. The luminaire ofclaim 9, wherein the plurality of LED dies of at least one of theplurality of LED die sets emits light beams of a corresponding pluralityof colors.
 19. The luminaire of claim 18, wherein a brightness of one ormore of the LED dies of the at least one of the plurality of LED diesets is configured to be controlled remotely.
 20. The luminaire of claim9, wherein the plurality of LED dies of each of the plurality of LED diesets emits light beams of a plurality of colors corresponding to theplurality of LED dies, each plurality of dies emitting the sameplurality of colors, and the colored LED dies of at least first andsecond ones of the plurality of LED die sets are configured respectivelyin first and second positions relative to each other, the firstconfiguration of positions different from the second configuration ofpositions.